Sunday, October 9, 2011

On a recent hike into the mountains, we stumbled across this one beargrass plant (Xerophyllum tenax) that has 8-10 cool, kinky basal leaves amongst many dozens of straight leaves. There were many more beargrass plants in the vicinity, but this was the only specimen we saw with anything but straight leaves. I queried four excellent botanist friends, but apparently none have encountered this kinky stuff before.

Our native beargrass is a poisonous, perennial member of the lily family. Local Native American tribes used the tough leaves to weave into baskets, and the valuable leaves were traded to tribes living beyond beargrass habitats. Blackfeet Indians also used beargrass roots to make a lather wash for wounds.

I've never seen it firsthand, but bears are reported to dig up and eat beargrass roots, which may be the origin of its common name. Its Latin name translates into, "dry leaf holding fast."

It's interesting that, while the plants are fairly long-lived, they only produce flowers every 5-10 years. The tall flowering stalks (June - August) actually sprout from off-shoot plants that emerge at the base of the plant and then die off after flowering. It's also interesting that beargrass appears to be declining, possibly because of a reduction in natural and human-ignited fires, which leads to an increase in forest canopy cover and shade.